8 tbsp apricot jam OR strawberry & rhubarb jam (click here for the homemade version of Madam Confituur, written in Dutch)

4 apricots, peaches or other stone fruit

Method:

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Sift the cottage cheese, so you end up with a dry cheesy mixture. Stir this along with 125g butter through the flour mixture and knead shortly until you have a consistent dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for thirty minutes.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a large rectangle, longest side up. Cut the cold butter into really thin slices and divide them over 2/3 of the rectangle. Fold the non-buttered part over the middle, then the upper part over the middle. This is your first turn. Chill the dough for thirty minutes in the fridge.

Re-roll the dough to a rectangle and repeat the previous step, until you have a total amount of 5 turns.

Next, make the pastries. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Roll the dough to a few millimeters thickness and cut 8 equal squares out of it. Arrange the squares onto a sheet of baking paper. Cut along every corner an ‘L shape’ of 90 degrees, as you can see on the GIF below.

Spread one tablespoon of jam over the middle of a square and top with one apricot half. Pull every corner towards the center and seal the top well, as you can see on the gif. Repeat for the remaining 7 squares.

Whisk an egg yolk with a splash of milk and brush on top of the squares. Sprinkle with some caster sugar, then bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.